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The Bryna Prensky Collection

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Guillermo Silva Santamaría (Colombian, 1921 – 2007). Vendedor de Flores (Flower Vendor)

Guillermo Silva Santamaría (Colombian, 1921 – 2007). Vendedor de Flores (Flower Vendor), n.d., (detail). Colored etching, 18 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches, Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. 2007.3.0718. The Bryna Prensky Collection, gift of Michael F. and Tonya L. Aranda.

Alfredo Falfán (Mexican, 1936 – 2009). Abstracto (Abstract)

Alfredo Falfán (Mexican, 1936 – 2009). Abstracto (Abstract), n.d. Watercolor. 13 1/4 x 16 3/4 inches. Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. 2007.3.0182. The Bryna Prensky Collection, gift of Michael F. and Tonya L. Aranda.

Jesús Leuus (Mexican, b. 1948). Protegiendo el niño (Guarding the Child)

Jesús Leuus (Mexican, b. 1948). Protegiendo el niño (Guarding the Child), 1966. Oil on board. 19 3/4 x 23 1/2 inches. Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. 2007.3.0293. The Bryna Prensky Collection, gift of Michael F. and Tonya L. Aranda.

Felipe Saúl Peña (Mexican, b. 1932). Pájaro, alas extendidas (Bird, Spread Wings)

Felipe Saúl Peña (Mexican, b. 1932). Pájaro, alas extendidas (Bird, Spread Wings), n.d. Ink wash on paper mounted on board. 11 x 8 1/2 inches. Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. 2007.3.0442. The Bryna Prensky Collection, gift of Michael F. and Tonya L. Aranda.

Leticia Tarragó (Mexican, b. 1940). Ari Zanuida

Leticia Tarragó (Mexican, b. 1940). Ari Zanuida, n.d., Etching, 9 3/4 x 14 inches. Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. 2007.3.0926. The Bryna Prensky Collection, gift of Michael F. and Tonya L. Aranda.

November 3, 2018 — January 6, 2019


  El texto en español


Bryna Prensky, an aspiring artist and future gallerist, and David Prensky, a dentist, married in Virginia in 1952. The couple chose Mexico as the destination for their second honeymoon two years after they were married and financially stable. They quickly became enamored with Mexican culture and decided to stay, embracing Mexico as their new home. It would be almost 30 years before they returned to the U.S.

As a student at the San Carlos Academy in Mexico City, Bryna met many other young artists whose work marked the emergence of a new wave of creative minds with a more modern and experimental sensibility. Bryna sought to support and promote artists whose work was not as widely known as that of Los tres grandes (“The Three Great Ones”): Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. She opened several art galleries in Mexico City, where she organized exhibitions of the young artists she so eagerly supported. The Bryna Prensky Collection was built from close relationships and friendships with the artists; the personal connections between them gave the Prenskys’ collecting practice a deeper meaning beyond the mere accumulation of art objects.

In 1981, David closed his dental office in Mexico and, a year later, the couple moved to Palm Beach to begin a new stage in their lives. Their collection continued to grow, as they acquired more work during subsequent trips to Mexico. Bryna died in 2002, leaving behind an exceptional collection of modern Mexican art. It shows a great diversity of styles and subject matter and attests to the Prenskys’ keen eye for collecting art that evidences an artist’s aesthetic essence, as well as a personal resonance with the themes represented.

The artists featured in this exhibition — Alfredo Falfán, Felipe Saúl Peña, Jesús Leuus, Leticia Tarragó and Guillermo Silva Santamaría, among others — are a testament to Bryna’s commitment to the patronage of a closely knit group of talented and innovative artists. The selection of works on display in this exhibition is part of the Bryna Prensky Collection, generously donated to Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum by Michael F. and Tonya L. Aranda.

Exhibition organized by Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum, and is sponsored by Waterside Shops.


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